Curtain-fixture.



7 No. 824,916. PATENTBD JULY s, 1906.

- 0.E.DUNN,

CURTAIN FIXTURE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27, 1904.

Wiznessesn flaw/150i". 65 Wa 4% J UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLIFFORD E. DUNN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE CURTAIN SUPPLY COMPANY, OF NEWARK, NEW' JERSEY, AND CHICAGO, ILLI- NOIS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CURTAIN-FIXTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 1906.

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLIFFORD E. DUNN, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York city, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Curtain-Fixtures, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in curtain-fixtures, and particularly to that class of fixtures such as is usually employed in railroad-cars, wherein the curtain is suspended from a spring-actuated roller or cylinder normally tending to raise the curtain. In this type of apparatus the curtain is maintained in the desired position by a stick at the bottom of the curtain, carrying friction devices which contact with the side of the window-frame.

My present improvement is intended to obviate the difficulty which has heretofore been found in producing what is known as a selfrighting fixture namely, one wherein the curtain will return to a horizontal position automatically should it be canted or one side pulled lower than the other, as often happens in the operation of these devices; and

' my invention consists in providing a simple mechanism containing few parts which will effect the desired result and whichwill be easy to assemble and be chea to manufacture.

The preferred form of ture to which I apply my invention is that wherein the curtainstick is formed of a cylinder having springactuated rods therein, the springs of whic force the rods outwardly, and the ends of these rods carry elongated head-pieces which are adapted to move in slots in the windowframe and hold the curtain in the required position. Pinch-handles are attached to the inner ends of the rods and serve as means to relieve the tension of the head-pieces on the bottom of the grooves when the curtain is required to be raised or rolled up. In the fixtures now in use it is only necessary to grasp the curtain by the pinch-handle and move it down against the action of the spring or permit the spring to raise the curtain to the desired level, when upon releasing the handle the spring-rods force the heads, provided with friction-surfaces, into contact with the bottom of the grooves and hold the curtain in 7 place; but in operation the curtains are very often handled carelessly and by inexperienced persons, who grasp, not the pinch-handle, but any portion of the curtain which is available, and by grasping one end, for instance, they are liable to tilt the curtain-stick and cause the headieces to jam in the grooves or to come out of the grooves entirely, and it very often hap ens that these persons are not sufiiciently ski led to replace the curtains in the grooves. It is desirable, however, to have a fixture wherein the curtain-stick can be removed from the grooves for the purpose of facilitating the washing of the windows, &c., and it is this type of fixture which best suits itself to my invention.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating one form of my invention, Figure 1 is a sectional view of a portion of the curtain-stick and of the left-hand head-piece, the latter being shown inits normal position. Fig. 2 is a broken sectional view of the curtain-stick, showing both head-pieces in their abnormal position-that is, when the curtain has been canted and pulled down by one of its corners. Fig. 3 is a detailed view of a portion of a modified form of headiece and will hereinafter be more particular y described.

In the drawings, 1 represents the cylinder of the curtain-stick, and 2 the pinch-handled rods, which are of theusual construction and need not be particularly described herein. At the outer ends of these rods are pivoted the head-pieces 3, the pivot 4 serving to connect the same. The head-pieces are provided with rollers 5, 6, 7, and 8, which are mounted to normally revolve freely on bearings located near the ends of the heads, and these rollers are adapted to bear against the bottom of the grooves and serve as contactpoints between the grooves and head-pieces. The rollers are normally prevented from movement by the ends 9 9 of the spring 10, which ends bear upon their circumference. Levers 11 and 12 contact, respectively, with the arms 13 and 14 on the head-piece and serve to lift the brake from one or the other roller as the head-piece is tilted. In some cases it may be desirable to insure against any rotation of the roller, and this may be accomplished by the modificat on shown in Fig. 3, whereby each roller has formed integral therewith or immovably secured thereto a toothed wheel 18, and in this case the braketom of the slot.

shoe is similarly notched to engage therewith and absolutely prevent the rotation of the wheel.

The operation of this form of device will be readily understood from the foregoing description. In Fig. 1 the curtain-stick being normally in a substantially horizontal position, the head-pieces are at practically right angles thereto, and the rollers 5 and 6, with the brakes applied bearing against the bottom of the groove, serve to hold the curtain and stick against vertical movement and against the tension of the curtain-roller.

Should the curtain-stick be canted, howeveras, for instance, by pulling the curtain down by one cornereach head-piece will be tilted on its pivot, thereby raising the brake from the contacting roller and permitting it to revolve and the curtain to right itself. This is clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, wherein the stick is in a canted position, both heads being tilted and but one roller on each head-that is, rollers 6 and 7in contact with the bot- In this position the brakes have been withdrawn from the contacting rollers, and they are free to revolve, and the tension of the springs in the curtain-stick forcing the heads outwardly will automatically force the curtain-stick into a substantially horizontal position, and thereby right the curtain. It will readily be seen that whenever the stick is pulled down unevenly the contacting rollers are automatically freed and cause the curtain-stick to right itself. If the brakes are properly adjusted, so that a tip ing of a head-piece three or four degrees wil operate to release them from the proper rollers, it will be practically impossible for the fixture to be pulled out of the groove in ordinary use. The tendency of the springs in the curtain-stick will be to force the stick straight, the contacting rollers rotating freely facilitating this, and in ractice it will be found that the fixture wil tend to right itself to a horizontal position.

As before stated, I have shown my invention as applied to apinch-handled fixture but I do not wish to limit myself to any such use, as it may be advantageously employed with other types of fixtures. Furthermore, while I prefer to employ a ivoted or oscillating head-piece at each end of the curtain-stick, and thus produce a much better structure, I do not limit myself to this form, however.

The particular mechanism which I have shown in the drawings and described in this specification may be materially modified without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not limit myself to the particular forms shown and described; but

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a curtain-fixture for a self-righting curtain, the combination with a shade of a curtain-stick, head-pieces movably secured the curtain-stick releases the friction device r from operation,'substantially as described.

2. In a curtain-fixture for a self-righting curtain, the combination with a shade, of a curtain-stick, head-pieces movably secured on said stick, antifriction-rollers mounted on said head-pieces, friction-brakes formed of a resilient material and normally preventing the movement of the antifriction-rollers and means whereby the movement of the head pieces on the curtain-stick releases part of the friction devices from operation, substantially as described.

3. In a curtain-fixture for a self-righting curtain, the combination with a shade of a curtain-stick, head-pieces movably secured to said stick and having antifrictionsurfaces for engagement with the window-frame, movable friction devices normally preventing the movement of the curtain, and means comprising arms and pivoted levers whereby the movement of the head-pieces on the curtain-stick releases art of the friction devices from operation, suldstantially as described.

4. In a curtain-fixture for a self-righting curtain, the combination with a shade of a curtain-stick, head-pieces movablysecured to said stick and having antifriction-surfaces for engagement with the window frame, movable friction devices composed of a resilient material and normally preventing the movement of the curtain, and means comprising arms and pivoted levers whereby the movement of the head-pieces on the curtainstick releases one of the friction devices from operation, substantially as described.

5. In a curtain-fixture for a self-righting curtain, the combination'with a shade, of a curtain-stick, head-pieces movably secured on said stick, antifriction-rollers mounted in said head-pieces, friction-brakes formed of a resilient material and normally preventing the movement of the rollers and means comprising arms and pivoted levers whereby the movement of the head-pieces on the curtainstick releases one of the friction devices from operation substantially as described.

6. In a curtain-fixture for a self-righting curtain, the combination with a shade, of a curtain-stick, head-pieces movably secured on said stick, antifriction-rollers mounted on said head-pieces, friction-brakes formed of resilient material and normally preventing the movement of the rollers and means comprising arms and pivoted levers, whereby the movement of the head-pieces on the curtainstick releases one of the friction devices from operation, substantially as described.

7. In a curtain-fixture for a self-righting curtain, the combination with a shade, of a curtain-stick, head-pieces movably secured to said stick, antifriction-rollers journaled on said head-pieces, a spring-brake, secured on said head-pieces the ends of which bear against and prevent the rotation of the rollers, arms projecting from the curtain-stick, and pivoted levers connecting said arms and the ends of said brake, whereby the tilting of the head-pieces on the curtain-stick, releases the brakes, substantially as described.

8. In a curtain-fixture, the combination with a shade, of a curtain-stick, head-pieces movably secured to said stick, means for normally preventing the movement of the shade including a movable friction device composed of a resilient material, and means whereby the movement of the head-pieces on the curtain-stick releases the friction device from operation.

9. In a curtain-fixture for a self-righting curtain, the combination with a shade of a curtain-stick, headieces movably secured to said stick, an antifriction device for engaging with the window-frame, a movable friction device composed of a resilient material and normally preventing the movement of the antifriction device, and means whereby the movement of the head-pieces on the curtain-stick releases the friction device from operation.

10. In a curtain-fixture, the combination with a shade, of a curtain-stick, a head-piece movably secured to said stick, holding means including a friction device carried by said head-piece and pivoted means interposed between the curtainstick and friction device of actuating the same upon the movement of the head-piece relative to the stick.

11. In a curtain-fixture the combination with a shade, of a curtain-stick, a head-piece movably secured to said stick, antifriction devices adjacent the respective ends of the head-piece, an intermediate friction device carried by said head-piece, and means interposed between the curtain-stick and friction device for actuating the latter upon the movement of the head-piece relative to the stick.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

A. O. FISCHER, AnoLPn F. DINSE. 

